Letters to the Editor

Down side of civilization

So the Illinois Legislature wants to join the “civilized” world and get rid of the death penalty.

Our civilized society is filled with people like Harold Martin, level 3 sex offender. How civilized are we when predators rape and ruin the lives of countless children and women? We incarcerate people like this, feed, house, give them medical, dental and counseling and then set them free to terrorize us again and again.

There are thousands of dangerous criminals roaming our streets looking for their next opportunity to violate the innocent. The government tells us (if they can) where they live so we can be careful with kids. Our society is guilty of not protecting its most vulnerable citizens.

I suspect we are soft on sexual crime because we don’t want anyone to hamper our sexual freedom. Maybe our preferences border on the obscene and that’s why we won’t get serious about level 3 offenders and take away their right to live. How is capital punishment worse than the horror of hundreds of victims being scarred for life?